Positioning structure for speaker of portable electronic device

ABSTRACT

An exemplary positioning structure for a portable electronic device includes a support element, a metal element, and a ring seal. The support element defines an opening. The metal element is attached to the support element. The metal element includes a projection and a depression. The opening and the depression receives the speaker. The ring seal is placed around the projection.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to positioning structures, andparticularly to a positioning structure for mounting a speaker to aportable electronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

Portable electronic devices generally need a speaker to output sound. Atypical speaker is fixed to a cover of the portable electronic device.The cover is further fixed to a main housing of the portable electronicdevice with screws. During assembly, the screws need to be screwedtightly to assemble the cover to the main housing. The screwing processmight shift the speaker out of position, thereby degrading the qualityof the product. In addition, portable electronic devices usually includea plurality of electrical components around the speaker. Electrostaticcharges are liable to build up in the electrical components, andsuddenly discharge and damage the speaker.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present positioning structure can be betterunderstood with reference to the following drawings. The components inthe drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis insteadbeing placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the positioningstructure. Moreover, in the drawings, all the views are schematic, andlike reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of a portable electronic devicewith a positioning structure according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, exploded view of the positioning structure ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, but viewed from another aspect.

FIG. 4 is an assembled view of the portable electronic device shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the portable electronic device ofFIG. 4 taken along line V-V thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present positioning structure may be applied in many differentelectronic devices such as mobile phones, game devices, PDAs (personaldigital assistants) and others. In an illustrated exemplary embodiment,the positioning structure is used in a mobile phone.

FIG. 1 shows a mobile phone 100 including a housing 10, a cover 20, apositioning structure 30 and an electrically conductive element 40. Thepositioning structure 30 and the conductive element 40 are sandwichedbetween the cover 20 and the housing 10. The conductive element 40 isused for removal of electrostatic charges from the positioning structure30.

The housing 10 can be one portion of a housing of a mobile phone, andincludes a base plate 12. At least two posts 14 are positioned on oneend of the base plate 12. The cover 20 is attached to the housing 10. Athrough hole 22 is defined in one end of the cover 20.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the positioning structure 30 includes asupport element 32, a metal element 34, a ring seal 37, a first elasticelement 38 and a second elastic element 39. The positioning structure 30is used for mounting a speaker 36 in the mobile phone 100.

The support element 32 is made of plastic and is formed by injectionmolding. An opening 320 is defined in a middle area of the supportelement 32. A first recess 321 and a second recess 323 are defined inopposite ends of a top side of the support element 32, respectively. Afirst groove 322 and a second groove 324 are defined in the oppositeends of a bottom side of the support element 32, respectively. At leasttwo holes 326 are defined in the support element 32. The holes 326correspond to the posts 14, for mounting the support element 32 to thehousing 10.

The metal element 34 is attached to the support element 32. In thisexemplary embodiment, the metal element 34 is generally plate-shaped,and is integrally formed with the support element 32 by insert molding.A frame-shaped projection 342 protrudes from a top side of the metalelement 34. Thereby, a depression 343 is defined at a bottom side of themetal element 34, corresponding to the projection 342. The depression343 and the opening 320 together are configured for receiving thespeaker 36. The projection 342 defines an orifice 346. When the cover 20is attached to the housing 10, the orifice 346 is aligned with thethrough hole 22.

The speaker 36 defines a sound port 362 at one side thereof (i.e., thetop side). When the speaker 36 is received in the opening 320 of thesupport element 32, the sound port 362 is aligned with the orifice 346.

The ring seal 37 is made of elastic material such as plastic or rubber,and can be placed around the protrusion 342. The ring seal 37 issandwiched between the metal element 34 and the cover 20 and surroundsthe protrusion 342, to prevent sound from the speaker 36 leaking from aclearance between the metal element 34 and the cover 20.

The first elastic element 38 and the second elastic element 39 can belatched to the opposite ends of the support element 32. In the presentembodiment, the first and second elastic elements 38, 39 are made ofmetal. The first elastic element 38 includes a clamping portion 382 anda plurality of bent arms 384. The clamping portion 382 is configured forbeing received in the first recess 321 and the first groove 322, andclamping one end of the support element 32. The bent arms 384 areobliquely angled with respect to the clamping portion 382, and can beelectrically connected to the conductive element 40. In particular, thebent arms 384 can resiliently (elastically) press the conductive element40 when the mobile phone 100 is assembled. The second elastic element 39is similar to the first elastic element 38, and includes a clampingportion 392 and a plurality of bent arms 394. The clamping portion 392is configured for being received in the second recess 323 and the secondgroove 324, and clamping the other end of the support element 32. Thebent arms 394 are obliquely angled with respect to the clamping portion392, and can be electrically connected to the conductive element 40.

The conductive element 40 is used for removing electrostatic chargesfrom the speaker 36 and the metal element 34. In an exemplaryembodiment, the conductive element 40 is a flexible printed circuitboard. A number of contacts 42 are positioned on the conductive element40 for electrically connecting the bent arms 384 and 394 to a groundingpin (not shown) of the mobile phone 100.

FIG. 4 shows the mobile phone 100 assembled. In this state, the firstelastic element 38 is received in the first recess 321 and the firstgroove 322 and clamps one end of the support element 32. The secondelastic element 39 is received in the second recess 323 and the secondgroove 324 and clamps the other end of the support element 32. The firstelastic element 38 and the second elastic element 39 are respectivelywelded to the metal element 34. The ring seal 37 is placed around theprojection 342. The speaker 36 is received in the opening 320 and thedepression 343, and the sound port 362 is aligned with the orifice 362.The conductive element 40 is attached to the housing 10. The assembledpositioning structure 30 is positioned on the conductive element 40 ofthe housing 10. The posts 14 of the housing 10 pass through the holes326 of the support element 32. The cover 20 is attached to the housing10, and abuts against the ring seal 37. The through hole 22, the soundport 362 and the orifice 346 are aligned with each other. The speaker36, the first elastic element 38 and the second elastic element 39 areelectrically connected to the conductive element 40. The metal element34 and the support element 32 help the speaker 36 to be accurately fixedto the mobile phone 100. The assembly process is easy and convenient. Inaddition, the ring seal 37 helps prevent sound from leaking and therebyimproves the sound quality of the speaker 36.

It is to be understood, however, that even through numerouscharacteristics and advantages of exemplary embodiments have been setforth in the foregoing description, together with details of thestructures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure isillustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially inmatters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principlesof the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad generalmeaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

1. A positioning structure for mounting a speaker to a portableelectronic device, the positioning structure comprising: a supportelement defining an opening; a metal element adjoining the supportelement, the metal element including a hollow projection and adepression defined by an inner side of the projection, the opening andthe depression configured for receiving the speaker; and a ring sealpositioned around the projection.
 2. The positioning structure of claim1, wherein the metal element and the support element are portions of aninsert-molded single body.
 3. The positioning structure of claim 1,further comprising a first elastic element made of electricallyconductive material and a second elastic element made of electricallyconductive material, wherein the first elastic element and the secondelastic element respectively clamp two ends of the support element andare capable of connection to ground.
 4. The positioning structure ofclaim 3, wherein each of the first elastic element and the secondelastic element includes a clamping portion and a bent arm, the clampingportion clamps a corresponding end of the support element, and the bentarm is angled with respect to the clamping portion and capable of beingelastically deformed when pressed.
 5. The positioning structure of claim1, wherein the projection protrudes from a top side of the metalelement, and the depression is defined at a bottom side of the metalelement corresponding to the projection.
 6. The positioning structure ofclaim 5, wherein the projection defines an orifice for alignment with asound port of the speaker.
 7. A portable electronic device, comprising:a housing; a cover attached to the housing; a speaker; a support elementattached to the housing, the support element defining an opening; ametal element adjoining the support element, the metal element includinga hollow projection and a depression defined by an inner side of theprojection, the opening and the depression receiving the speaker; and aring seal positioned around the projection and abutting against thecover.
 8. The portable electronic device of claim 7, further comprisingan electrically conductive element, wherein the metal element and thespeaker are electrically connected to the electrically conductiveelement.
 9. The portable electronic device of claim 8, furthercomprising a first elastic element made of electrically conductivematerial and a second elastic element made of electrically conductivematerial, wherein the first elastic element and the second elasticelement respectively clamp two ends of the support element and areconnected to the electrically conductive element.
 10. The portableelectronic device of claim 7, wherein the metal element and the supportelement are portions of an insert-molded single body.
 11. The portableelectronic device of claim 7, wherein the ring seal is made of elasticmaterial.
 12. A speaker positioning assembly for a portable electronicdevice, the speaker positioning assembly comprising: an electricallyconductive element; a speaker; a support element defining an opening; ametal element adjoining the support element, the metal element includinga depression, the opening and the depression receiving the speaker; anda first elastic element and a second elastic element, the first elasticelement and the second elastic element respectively clamping two ends ofthe support element and electrically connecting the metal element to theelectrically conductive element.
 13. The positioning structure of claim12, wherein the metal element further includes a projection, whichprotrudes from a top side of the metal element, and the depression isdefined at a bottom side of the metal element corresponding to theprojection.
 14. The positioning structure of claim 13, wherein theprojection defines an orifice, the speaker includes a sound port, andthe orifice and the sound port are aligned with each other.
 15. Thepositioning structure of claim 12, further comprising a ring seal,wherein the ring seal is positioned around the projection.
 16. Thepositioning structure of claim 12, wherein each of the first elasticelement and the second elastic element includes a clamping portion and abent arm, the clamping portion clamps a corresponding end of the supportelement, and the bent arm is angled with respect to the clamping portionand resiliently abuts electrically conductive element.